Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 3, 1994                   TAG: 9409070061
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

TECH STUDENTS HELPING RWANDANS

What's exploded in the war-torn country since then has been nothing less than horrifying.

"It's the worst refugee crisis, and the worst massacre I've seen," the geology professor at Virginia Tech said. "I've heard it described as genocide."

Watching disease and suffering rip through refugee camps depicted in the news, Eriksson and fellow members of the three Tech organizations devoted to African issues felt the same: "We just wanted to do something, but we couldn't go there. It's just another mouth to feed."

Instead, the group has launched a fund-raising drive. They've solicited funds from local businesses, asked local artist Deb Wildman to design a T-shirt, and already have sold out the first batch.

Proceeds from sales will go to Unicef and Church World Service, a relief group out of New York City, with the hopes that help can go to the children.

"I think we all feel a very close connection," said Kate Briody, who was part of a group that formed Tech's Focus on Africa during the darkest days of the Somalian crisis. "It's a desperate situation. It's inhumane. "

Like Eriksson, Briody has had some experience working with African relief workers, although her efforts have been through workers in this country who have spent time across the Atlantic. Briody is a former Unicef volunteer.

"You don't have to be there to be profoundly affected," said Briody, who works at the Cranwell International Center. "This is a particularly horrendous situation. I think we're a little bit overloaded with trauma right now, but, even so, we need to constantly face these situations so they're not repeated, or it doesn't happen in this country."

The black T-shirts show interconnected hands, representing solidarity among peoples. They can be purchased in the Black Cultural Center of Squires Student Center during operating hours, or by calling Erikkson at 231-4680 or 951-8170, or Briody, at 231-9519 or 951-7749. The shirts cost $12.